Augsburg News

News Archives - 2008

On the air at KDWB

OCTOBER 9, 2008

picture of John Cerrito at workJohn Cerrito (the Augsburg student, not the Augsburg professor) has an internship many might find enviable. John works for the Dave Ryan in the Morning Show at KDWB-FM. True, he drags himself out of bed at 4 a.m. but he says the perks of the job, including free concert tickets and the opportunity to meet stars like Jessica Simpson and the Backstreet Boys, definitely make it worthwhile.

John was accepted for a summer internship with KDWB following his high school graduation. He began by performing typical intern duties, making coffee and doing lots of photocopying. Later, he was assigned more interesting tasks like pulling audio clips of television shows off the Internet to play on the show. John now selects the ones he thinks will be most useful for supporting the theme of the day's show.

Meeting Dave Ryan for the first time is an experience John says he'll never forget. "I was walking down the hall and heard a voice around the corner I recognized right away. I was pretty star-struck because this was the guy I had listened to all my life," he says. "The first thing he said to me was 'Before you leave here, we're going to have to teach you how to iron your shirt.'"

The internship went so well that in August, he was hired as an assistant producer, running the behind-the-scenes activities of the show. "I weed through calls to make sure people with something relevant to say get through." John also does audio editing for the website, produces promotional commercials, and comes up with ideas for the show. "Occasionally I get to go on the air. I'm known as 'Intern John, the college kid.'" He also has a page on the show's website and is doing a blog.

Both of John's parents are professors in Augsburg's business department, and his mother is his advisor. While he is currently a sophomore, he says he's been around campus forever. His parents are supportive of his internship at KDWB as long as he keeps school a priority. "In high school I vigorously trained to be a multi-tasker which has definitely helped me with my current schedule." John spends his mornings at the radio station then goes to class, takes a full credit load, and is also on the dean's list at Augsburg. And, he works at the Augsburg bookstore on weekends.

John is now training to be a DJ and says he has learned a lot from Dave Ryan and from Steve-O, the show's producer. "I'd like to see where this goes," he says, with a nod toward the studio. "Working with Dave and the rest of the Morning Show has been a dream come true."

Article by Jennifer Hipple.